JCC pre-Purim party featuring free copies of “The Illustrated Cocktail” with ticket
Published March 14, 2022
When it comes to drinking on Purim, the Talmud clearly understood what the scroll of Esther was all about. In practically every chapter of the Megillah, someone is imbibing heavily at a drinking party. And the scroll concludes with Mordecai’s instruction to the entire Jewish people to celebrate these days as “yemei mishteh v’simchah, days of drinking and rejoicing” (Esther 9:22).
In Talmud: “Rava said: It is one’s duty levasumei, to make oneself fragrant [with wine] on Purim until one cannot tell the difference between ‘arur Haman‘ (cursed be Haman) and ‘barukh Mordekhai’ (blessed be Mordecai)” (Babylonian Talmud, Megillah 7b).
That could be interpreted in many ways, including getting black-out drunk, so for the purposes here, let’s just assume we’re all going to drink responsibly.
Pre-Purim Party featuring “The Illustrated Cocktail”
On Tuesday, March 15th, Nishmah & the St. Louis Jewish Book Festival are hosting a pre-Purim cocktail party, featuring local author Rachel K. Miller.
Last year, Miller published The Illustrated Cocktail, a gorgeously illustrated collection of more than 60 cocktail recipes. Each recipe is a full-color drawing, with the facing page containing a black-and-white figure sketch as well as some humorous text or interesting facts about the drink.
Miller divided the cocktails into six sections, arranged by the dominant alcohol used so that there’s a vodka, gin, rum, whiskey, tequila and wine, and brandy section, as well as one on shots. Twenty additional pages contain tips on home bartending, setting up a bar, and collecting vintage glass, along with other adult beverage information.
Pre-Purim Party
For this event, you’re invited to grab a nosh and a drink, and then hear from Miller, as she discusses her inspiration behind her book.
“I am so excited about this event with The Jewish Book Festival and Nishmah,” said Miller. “These organizations are so important to the community. I am very honored that they have chosen my book to promote with this event. My hope is, that people will come by, enjoy the evening, also learn a little more about JBF and Nishmah and get excited about my book too.”
The price of admission to the event is $36, and includes a copy of The Illustrated Cocktail, which retails for $54.99. This is an incredible opportunity to get the book at this crazy discounted price. This price is only good for the event.
Free Recipe
March 15 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Pre-Purim Party
Tuesday, March 15, 7pm
Staenberg Family Complex/Creve Coeur
Tickets: $36, includes copy of the book plus refreshments
Proof of vaccine is required. Masks must be worn at all times when not eating or drinking.
The ‘art’ of mixology
As she explains, the project came about almost organically when Miller’s two adult daughters, Abigail, 24, and Tamara, 22, returned home to Olivette to quarantine with their mother at the beginning of the COVID-19 shutdown.
“We decided to have a cocktail, an old-fashioned, while we settled in to binge watch ‘Mad Men’ one evening,” explained Miller, referring to the series that revolves around a Madison Avenue advertising agency in the 1960s, starring St. Louis native Jon Hamm.
“I started a retro drawing of an old-fashioned recipe for my daughters and posted it to my Instagram page. The post blew up; people were weighing in saying they loved it. Then in the weeks that followed, I started doing them for other classic cocktails, and people responded saying they wanted more. As time went on, and as more people kept suggesting, I decided that maybe I should do a book.”
The thing was, admits Miller, who belongs to Kol Rinah, she really had no idea what “do a book” entailed.
“I tried to find a publisher or an agent,” she said, “but I’m not a mixologist or a famous person or even a famous artist and I don’t have a huge social media following. And what I had in mind was an expensive book to make.”
Encouraged by family and friends not to give up, Miller launched an online Kickstarter campaign hoping to raise $6,500 to pay for the costs incurred in putting together the book, including formatting, printing and shipping costs. As of Tuesday, she had raised more than $7,600; the campaign ends May 13.
“I have raised enough money to make the book,” she said, explaining the more money she raises, the more books she can print. “My reach-goal is to raise enough money to print 250 copies.”
As you can see from the accompanying pictures, groovy or hip doesn’t begin to do justice to the look and feel of Miller’s coffee table book, “The Illustrated Cocktail.” More than 60 cocktail recipes have been drawn as sleek, vibrant two-page spreads. Each recipe is a full-color drawing, with the facing page containing a black-and-white figure sketch as well as some humorous text or interesting facts about the drink.
Miller divided the cocktails into six sections, arranged by the dominant alcohol used so that there’s a vodka, gin, rum, whiskey, tequila and wine and brandy section, as well as one on shots. Twenty additional pages contain tips on home bartending, setting up a bar and collecting vintage glass, along with other adult beverage information.
However, don’t expect to see bottles of your favorite brands of alcohol. Miller learned the hard way, after spending months drawing several of these bottles, that duplicating them infringed on their copyright.
“You can say Tanqueray gin in a recipe, but you cannot draw the specific shape of the Tanqueray gin bottle because of the copyright,” said Miller. “There were literally 130 things that I had in the book that were copyrighted that I had to redo to be generic, like Domino Sugar.
“I went to flea markets and bought decanters to use instead of the bottles I couldn’t draw. Thankfully, I draw everything digitally on an iPad, in layers, so I could take out a bottle and put in a decanter without too much hassle.”
Miller says “The Illustrated Cocktail” is a great way to celebrate the cocktail. “You can use it as a reference for drink recipes and bar tips, but it’s so much more,” she said. “I want people to enjoy the book as a very unique art piece. I will be displaying mine on my coffee table. The cover is bright and modern and would make a great addition to any décor.”
As Miller explains “‘The Illustrated Cocktail’ is not so much about the cocktail recipe — we can all get that information on the internet — it’s about the experience of looking through a beautiful book and being inspired by it. That is what this book means to me.”
